The Reluctant Hero of Konoha (AU Naruto story inspired by the Ciaphas
by Illuviar
Summary: The premise is simple - how a different Naruto would handle everything the Elemental Nations can throw his way? As a container for a daemon fox and the son of the Fourth Hokage, he has some very big shoes to fill. If that wasn't enough, he has to be a hero that everyone in Konoha respects, because the alternative is being turned into a weapon by the darker element of his village.


****AN: After re-reading some of the Ciaphas Cain novels and Accidental Hero of the Galaxy by Random Equinox on , I was inspired to continue this story. I'**** ** **ve also gone through all the reviews and decided to change the story's direction.****

 ** **Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. This story is written with no profit in mind. I make no money from it.****

 ** **This story was inspired by an idea from Guardian Box on the Space Battles forums and the Ciaphas Cain novels written by Sandy Mitchell, which I do not own either.****

 ** **The Reluctant Hero****

 ** **=RH=****

 ** **Prologue****

 _ ** **Warning!****_ _ ** **This is S-Class classified document!****_

 _ ** _ **Reading this document without first receiving the proper authorization will result in handing**_**_ _ ** _ **you to**_**_ _ ** _ **the**_**_ _ ** _ **non-existent**_**_ _ ** _ **mercies of the T &I department of Konoha.**_**_

 _ ** **Warning!**** ** **This is S-Class classified document!****_

 _"There are many stories pertaining Naruto Uzumaki, who we now all know as Naruto Namikaze. There are many accounts of his adventures from the time he graduated from Konoha's Shinobi Academy until the end of the Fourth Shinobi war. For anyone familiar with the world we live in, it won't be a surprise that most of those fairy tales are at best em-blemished and many had become outright legends, even if they possess a kernel of truth._

 _The purpose of this and subsequent documents I will be submitting to the Hokage for approval before releasing them to those shinobi and civilians with sufficient clearance is to set the record straight. I believe that I would be able to do so thanks to a simple fact that I discovered just a few days ago – Naruto Namikaze kept a journal of a kind, which gives us a frank insight into his character and various exploits as a Shinobi of Konoha. After I made the Hokage aware of the existence of these memoirs, he issued directive 781-5A, declaring that an edited history of Naruto's adventures should be made available to the people of the Elemental Countries. In the same time, a classified account of his actions would be distributed to the shinobi possessing sufficient clearance, containing everything that isn't deemed fit for civilian consumption. As anyone cleared to read the journals I will be editing might guess most of Naruto Namikaze's missions are actually either classified or contain elements that are._

 _As we all know, by now Naruto's life has become more or less a legend, so much so that even experienced Shinobi would be hard pressed to distinguish fact from fiction. We all should be thankful to the Toad Sannin Jiraya, because it was under his influence during a three years long training trip that Naruto Namikaze started writting these journals. If I'm to make a guess, the Sannin who was an accomplished and famous writer in his own right, wanted his godson to follow in his footsteps as far as writing is concerned. It's thanks to that man, that we now possess a mostly accurate account of Naruto's experiences as a Shinobi._

 _ _It is fortunate, that Namikaze continued to keep journals even after his training trip was over. He kept doing so__ _ _at least up__ _ _until the end of the Fourth Shinobi war, something I'm confident that future historians would be thankful for.__

 _ _Further, as the current ANBU Commander of Konoha, I have access not only to all classified documents my village have pertaining Naruto, but many archive documents from the Shinobi Alliance. Thanks to that wellspring of information I will be able to flesh up the journals with information that Namikaze either didn't possess at the time or even never received at a later date, making it impossible for him to add it to his account.__

 _ _Now, before I start with the first edited journal of Naruto Namikaze, I should warn any prospective readers of these documents that they contain some rather disturbing and frank admissions on his part. By his own words, he wasn't the fearless hero who not only Konoha, but the whole Elemental Nations know__ _ _an__ _ _d__ _ _a__ _ _d__ _ _mire. He wasn't simply the monster whose mention terrifies our enemies even to__ _ _d__ _ _ay either__ _ _. While I believe that Naruto has been overly harsh towards himself in his journals, something that persists through his account of events up until the war ended, I will leave you to make your own conclusions after you've read this autobiography of sorts.__

 _ _After this overly long introduction, it's time to start the story.__

 _ _Naruto's__ _ _legend began more than thirty years ago, during one of Konoha's darker hours. It was during an accident that threatened to start another war, at a time our illustrious village hadn't ha__ _ _d__ _ _the opportunity to recover from the last major conflict and the disastrous Kyu__ _ _u__ _ _bi attack__ _ _.__ _ _While Naruto was too young at the time to remember clearly the events of that night an__ _d only briefly mentions them in his journals, it is clear that they changed him. Luckily, I've got access to the Third Hokage's own journals which shed light on what exactly happened..._ _ _"__

 _ _ **ANBU Commander:**__ _ ** _ **Name Redacted**_**_

 ** **The Night of Kyuubi's attack****

 ** **Ten kilometers o**** ** **utsi**** ** **d**** ** **e Konoha****

 ** **=RH=****

Sarutobi shunshined to a large clearing where he found the Nine Tails and the Namikaze family. The sight almost stopped his old heart. He saw Minato and Kushina pierced by a meters long, blood stained claw. They were between the fox and their child, trying to protect the newborn.

Naruto was placed on a small altar, which was surrounded by a circle of candles. Kyuubi's claw was hanging centimeters from his face.

Minato sensed his old mentor's presence and glanced his way.

"Old man... I would ask... a boon from you. I want our… son to be seen... as the hero he... is for protecting Konoha from the... bastard fox..." the Hokage's words were interrupted by a coughing fits.

Hiruzen could see the blood leaking from his successor's mouth.

"He will be. I swear to it!" declared the man known as the God of Shinobi.

"Thank you, Hiruzen..." whispered Kushina.

"Eight Point Sealing…"

A wave of soft, yet blinding light descended upon the clearing. Some undetermined time later, when Sarutobi could see again, Kyuubi was gone. Minato and Kushina were slumped next to the crying form of their son, laying still in death.

All Hiruzen wanted to do at that moment was to scream at the heavens, cursing both gods and demons alike for the injustice of it all.

 ** **=RH=****

 ** **Hokage's office****

 ** **Konoha****

 _That night changed everything, though it took me a long time to comprehend exactly how much. Some consequences were obvious from the get go – Naruto's actions made my options very simple, very few, yet very complicated. The kid whom I always saw as my own grandson did something most surprising last night. He stumbled in the middle of a kidnapping attempt that might yet lead to war if mishandled and foiled it._

 _Despite the way this village betrayed him and his family, despite being shunted and called a monster behind his back, despite the way I betrayed him in the name of Konohoa's well being, Naruto surprised us all. No matter how I look at the situation, I find it hard to believe that he could find it in his heart to care about the village, about people who hate him for something that never was his fault._

 _Yet, he obviously does. He told me himself before finally succumbing to unconsciousness due to his wounds._

 _Last night Naruto both made me proud and humbled me._

 _He also made me remember how I betrayed not only him but another youngster who I saw as a grandson – his father._

 _Hopefully Naruto won't remember most details of last night. Oh, he should be proud of his actions no matter how foolish they were – after all, a five years old without a shred of training facing a shinobi is a suicide. Nevertheless Naruto lives thanks to the fox. More importantly, after Kyuubi used its Chakra to save him, he remembered the night he was born. Naruto remembered Kyuubi skewering his parents as it tried to gut him._

 _Now he knows their faces and knows who his father is – after all he sees Minato's face on the monument every day along with everyone in Konoha. If I'm to be honest to myself, given the resemblance between father and son, I'm unsure for how long the charade could have gone one._

 _Thanks to the enhanced healing granted by Kyuubi, Naruto will be awake and mostly recovered within days. Then he would have questions and I'm unsure how to answer them. I briefly considered either lying or having an Inoichi attempt to alter Naruto's memories, though I almost immediately dismissed those plans. On the face of it, that's what I should do – for the best of Konoha of course._

 _There's a part of me that even believes that. Even now I can look in the mirror and say to myself that my action towards Naruto were for the best of the village. It's not a lie, not exactly. However, if I'm to be honest with myself, there is a deeper, darker reason. My wife died the night Kyuubi attacked. I hadn't really admitted it to myself until last night, but in hindsight its obvious – my hatred of the fox had colored my actions towards Naruto. Its yet another betrayal among so many. As a Hokage I should be accustomed to such. Its a part of the unofficial job description after all – everything in the name of the village including selling ones soul._

 _Honestly I'm sick of it, yet there is not a reliable successor in sight. My best shinobi are too broken to do the job properly or vital in their current positions. Then there's Danzo…_

 _I know something changed yesterday. I can't get the promise I gave Minato out of my head. I can't get past the betrayal. Naruto should be seen as the hero he is. Not just because he's Kyuubi's prison, but because of what he did last night. Because despite all the resentment and hatred sent his way from the villagers, when the time came Naruto decided to risk his life to save a little girl he didn't know._

 _Because as he told me, it was the right thing to do._

 _What am I to do today? Kumo's ambassador is dead, killed by Naruto. They will demand compensation or threaten a war we aren't ready to fight. Five years simply weren't enough to recover from Kyuubi's rampage considering it came so soon after the end of the Third Shinobi War. Kumo would demand blood – either Naruto's or that of a plausible sacrifice._

 _I have a few days to fix this mess before we're engulfed by another war. Giving up Naruto is unthinkable and not just because he's Kyuubi's container. That leaves me with very few alternatives…_

 ** **=RH=****

 _In the end a sacrifice was necessary. Hizashi Hyūga volunteered to die. Officially it was Hiashi who killed the ambassador while attempting to rescue his daughter. He actually wanted to take the fall in order to protect his his daughter, twin, clan and village – in that order. However if I allowed him to go with it, the other clans might have well rebelled. As it is, it was a close thing – the war-hawks led by Danzo nearly drove is into the war I've been doing my best to avoid anyway._

 _That's why I finally made my mind about Naruto. While as far as the civilians are concerned the official version of events is the truth – Hizashi's valiant defense of his niece and his sacrifice to avoid another war, my shinobi and the clans know better. They knew that Naruto somehow accessed Kyuubi's Chakra in order to survive, kill the Kumo nin and save Hinata. Many wanted to simply turn him into weapon. Danzo called many of the favors owned to him to take control of Naruto._

 _It was a close run thing in the end. Perhaps its for the best. Naruto himself seems to agree, though we'll see how he'll see things when he grows up and looks back at the end of his childhood. On the "bright" side, I was finally able to fulfill the promise I gave Minato. Most of Konoha's shinobi now see Naruto as a hero who laid his very life down for the village facing impossible odds and yet somehow succeeding. It took every shred of charisma and experience I had, it took almost all the good will I've gotten during my long years as a Hokage but in the end I was able to turn even the very thing everyone fears and hates about Naruto – Kyuubi itself in a positive. After all, just at five, he was able to keep control over the fox, use its Chakra to save Hinata and himself, yet there was no collateral damage._

 _There are obviously downsides to my plan. Now Naruto is a hero. He has expectation to live up to. Expectations he can't afford not to meet or the clans and my most senior shinobi will push for him to be given to Danzo for more… rigorous training. Naruto's childhood is over. While he'll be starting the academy next year, he'll be receiving training from myself and some of my best men in order to keep the fox at bay until Jiraya could return for long enough to take him under his wing._

 _That's the plan anyway…_

 ** **Editorial Note:****

 **" _While Naruto's journals begin with events that happened years later, it soon becomes obvious that he had been at least in part aware of what it was at stake. That in my mind help explain his attitude and fear – both of dying and of the Kyuubi."_**

 ** **=RH=****

Where should I begin? With the day I entered the academy? With the day my shinobi training began almost half a year earlier? My graduation day? The few times I had to throw the exams in order to make myself look like less of a threat to certain parties, not to mention because both myself and the Hokage were afraid that if I was sent out on missions too early my furry little problem could prove disastrous? Perhaps I should start with that mess surrounding Mizuki after I supposedly botched another graduation?

Yeah. That might be a good beginning of my journals. So. Mizuki.

Well, as far as most of my classmates were concerned I was a loudmouthed, orange wearing idiot. Well, lets be honest for once. I do like orange. It's nice fuzzy color which has nothing to do with being a ninja. It's bright and war. It sucks for stealth. _/Not to mention in made him look ridiculous, though in hindsight it was brilliant. Who would have thought that the dumb loudmouth could actually be dangerous beyond the fox?/_ When I wear it it helps me think of myself as something more than just a weapon for Konoha. It helps me believe I'm a human as well. Heh. Its something that just a handful of people knew before I put it here in my own words.

In the end, my favorite orange turned out to be a great camouflage when combined with the role I played. If I'm to be honest my act in the academy wasn't complete lie. It was a way of escapism I think. There was a part of me that craved to be just an ordinary kid. I wanted attention and not just that of my tutors whose sole purpose was to turn me into the best weapon they could. I knew from the beginning that some hated my guts because of the fox.

That I could deal with. / _In a manner of speaking. In the end its a miracle Naruto turned as well as he did given his childhood or lack of one./_ What I found more disturbing was those shinobi seeing me as a hero. Not just because of my ill fated rescue of Hinata – that's not something I would ever regret no matter the path it put me on, but because by then many of Konoha's ninjas finally made the connection and figured out who my father was.

Everyone expected that I would fill Minato Namikaze's shoes. That I would be just as heroic and powerful as my father.

By my second year in the academy the novelty finally wore off and I made some unpleasant conclusions. Coincidentally, that was the first time a couple of my instructors vanished – dead on missions. A month later, another returned crippled and when she more or less recovered, she continued to be one of my teachers. _/Kane I_ _nuz_ _uka who lost her right hand during a skirmish with Kumo nins./_

Considering that thanks to the bloody furball I remember it murdering my parents, I should have known. I think I always knew it intellectually, thought I've been too glad to have some attention and acknowledgment to really think about it. Yet here she was – one of my instructors came back crippled. It put things into perspective. Now I knew it deep in my heart – being a shinobi wasn't safe. It more often than not meant either an early grave or retirement after your body got broken beyond use. _/Or your mind as often as not though it would be much later before Naruto understood that dirty little secret./_

Well, I was in a bind. I had the fucking Kyuubi locked into my belly, my father was the Fourth Hokage. Not being a successful shinobi simply wasn't an option. Yet I was terrified of dying. Of being left with body broken beyond repair. Even my father, possibly the most powerful and dangerous shinobi Konoha ever had had fallen. My mother too and by all accounts she was no slouch herself. Granted it took a bloody Chakra monster to bring them down, yet… There were eight more of those things out there and as Kyuubi's container, it was my job to face them.

Joy.

By the time my third year at the academy began, I knew I was fucked. It took me months of planning and terror until I figured a way to keep myself safe for the time being – I used the fear everyone had of my fox as an excuse to flunk the exams again and again until all of us could be reasonably sure that there wouldn't be an unfortunate fox related accident during my first mission.

Jiji thankfully agreed. _/He did for many of the same reasons. However in his journals the Third shows his relief at not having to sent Naruto out so young and that he had been planning to suggest a similar gambit himself./_ Plus, that delay gave me more time to train and thus make my chances out in the real world a bit better – something that would be invaluable.

Now, let's go back to Mizuki. He never liked me. As a Chunin, he wasn't one of those cleared to know about my real status. _/With a few exception only high ranking clan members, Jounin and the above and a handful of Chunin knew about the training Naruto was receiving, though almost every Konoha shinobi was aware of his status as a container and his rescue of Hinata Hyūga./_ Apparently the T&I division and their superiors in intelligence had their concerns about Mizuki. When he began sabotaging my training in the academy, his actions raised up a lot of red flags. However instead of grabbing him then and there, the decision was made that he was more useful as an identified spy who could be fed false information and eventually an avenue to identify and neutralize his masters.

Mizuki turned out to be my first official assignment as a weapon for Konoha. Long story short – I had to make myself look like even bigger idiot who actually liked the man and didn't notice the ways he was sabotaging my training. The hardest thing was throwing both weapon and taijutsu exams, not to mention the spars and training in the academy. Then therewas forcing myself to act as a bloody incompetent street brawler instead of someone trained in hand to hand combat by both Guy and Kakashi. Making myself appear incompetent after years of intensive training was bloody hard. I had to fake an injury after allegedly running into an angry crowd on my birthday to buy myself time to pull it off. I had to actually be trained to appear incompetent… _/Don't I know it. After few years of taijutsu training its very hard to fake not knowing how to properly fight./_

Needless to say, by the time I allegedly failed my third graduation attempt, I had my fill with Mizuki. Fortunately for my continued sanity, Konoha's Intel division was ready to pull the rug from under the bastard. I only had to make him show his hand – we knew he got a new assignment and order to pull out after it was done. When one took into account Mizuki's position – a teacher in the academy, the most likely targets were the clan heirs in my class and myself. So I had to pose as either a tantalizing morsel or at least a target of opportunity.

As it turned out, we were mistaken about Mizuki's intentions…

 **=RH=**

Mizuki showed his hand shortly after I flunked my practical exam. I did reasonably well on the written part even if by now I knew all the correct answers by heart – that sadist Miratashi saw to it that I could actually pass those tests in my sleep after I flunked for the first time, even if it was a deliberate failure and she knew it. Bloody maniac… _/Well, she is. Both a sadist and a maniac. One of my best friends too, but that's another story./_ Failing the weapon throwing test was simple – I simply aimed not to hit bull's eye so to speak. On the other hand, getting my ass handled to myself in the taijutsu portion of the exam was fucking embarrassing especially when I had to throw the fight against the Sasuke, the arrogant prick. _/While eventually Naruto Namikaze and Sasuke Uchiha grew to respect each other, for the longest time there was no love lost between the two./_

The one thing I didn't have to intentionally fuck up was the ninjutsu exam. The Henge was a no brainier – I was actually quite an adept with it even if that technique wasn't really useful against any shinobi who was paying attention. However it was invaluable for infiltrating civilian targets and it was the building block for the genjutsu discipline, which was a bloody irony considering that thanks to my monstrous Chakra reserves I was practically useless in that branch of the shinobi arts. Next was the hallowed substitution or as a few of my teachers tend to call it – Praise the Log! Being able to switch places with a piece of either wood or some not too large debris laying around is a skill that would forever be useful to save ones skin.

The last of the academy ninjutsu however is something that I simply couldn't do. The problem was the same I have with genjutsu – too much Chakra, which means that even after years of dedicated control exercises I simply lack the control to properly do it. You see, in order to create the standard Bunshin, which is another building block for genjutsu among other things, you need to use a precise and quite small amount of Chakra. However, that's too small an amount for me to control given my reserves.

The results were embarrassing – I could create a lot of Bunshin and that's the only good thing about my execution of that technique for they appeared either dead, frozen like statues or looking so sick that you'd think they were on their deathbed.

That particular demonstration earned me derisive laughter from most of my classmates with two exceptions. Shikamaru was too lazy to care and Hinata who had a crush on me ever since I saved her was pissed off that I failed when she was about to graduate. On the plus side, Mizuki looked awfully pleased for himself for a split second before placing a regretful expression on his face. Iruka, who knew the truth, wasn't pleased either though for very different reasons. For some arcane reason the man actually cared about me even if the fucking fox made sure that all his family died during its attack upon Konoha. Umino had reservations about this whole plan and let everyone know what he thought about using me as a bait.

It was heartening to know someone saw me as a person instead as either a weapon or a bloody icon. _/Those of us who actually saw Naruto as a person either from the beginning or after working alongside him were probably the reason why he remained both sane and more or less faithful to Konoha./_ Even better, Iruka was never one of the majority who couldn't wait to give me another suicidal mission, like those nice Intel folks who cooked up the whole Mizuki fiasco.

Nevertheless its not like I had an acceptable alternative. I had my first real mission and I had to pull it off. That's why I was sulking near the academy's entrance after I failed the exam. I paid no attention to the jeers of my supposed peers and waited. I was beginning to think that I might actually go searching for Mizuki and beg him for another chance or something, when the bastard deigned to show up. I was actually relieved when I saw him exit the academy and head my way.

"Naruto-kun!" Mizuki beamed at me. Its funny how obvious it was that his cheer was false though I wasn't sure if I would have noticed it if it wasn't for all the training I got. Kurenai-sensei was a witch when body language and deception were concerned. That combined with her affinity for genjutsu made her one of Konoha's premier infiltration and information gathering specialists. After Kurenai was done with me, you could say that she opened my eyes for the realities of both Konoha and the shinobi world – its something I would be forever thankful. _/Arguably, Kurenai-san was one of Naruto's teachers who had the biggest and most profound impact on him. By all accounts she made him see our world as it is and helped him develop the skills and mindset needed to survive its deceptions./_

"I know that the exam didn't turn up like you wanted but it isn't all bad." Mizuki continued.

"Thank you, sensei." I muttered glumly and continued to stare at the ground.

"Naruto, listen to me! I saw you potential." Mizuki smiled. "I know you got what it takes to be a shinobi!"

I've been one for years, even if this was my first mission, you prick! Of course I didn't say that aloud. Instead I put a wavering smile on my face and simply nodded in fake gratitude.

"That's why I'm ready to give you a secret test!" Mizuki leaned towards me. "You know, we instructors have the authority to do so if we see someone exception who for one reason or another struggles with sections of the standard exam." He whispered in conspiring tone.

"Really?" I perked up and sent him a hopeful look.

"Really! Would I lie to you?" Mizuki exclaimed quietly.

Of course!

"You?! No, way sensei! You're the best teacher in the whole academy!" I shouted to the heavens making him jump back.

"Sure, sure!" Mizuki muttered and looked around warily. "Now here's what you need to do..."

 **=RH=**

"Mizuki wants me to steal the Forbidden Scroll, Hokage-Sama. After that I'm to learn a jutsu from it, bring it to him on the edge of the Forbidden Forest and demonstrated the technique." I reported to Jiji.

Sarutobi frowned at my formal delivery and tapped his desk with his favorite pipe.

"I see. What do you think, Lion?" Jiji asked the other visible occupant of the room – a lithe female ANBU with a Lion mask. She was apparently the woman in charge of Konoha's Intelligence division. _/That was actually Inoichi, though officially he was simply the second in command of the T &I division. Lion actually was Yamanaka's right hand in Intelligence though she usually played the role of the director to make the lives of our enemies more difficult./_

"Deception." Lion stated flatly. "Mizuki has no reason to believe Naruto has a chance in hell of succeeding. At best he's to provide distraction while the traitor hits his real target."

"I concur." The Hokage nodded. "What's your thought on the matter, Naruto? You've got actually more interaction with the man than most of us combined?"

That question took me off guard. It made me think too. What did I know about Mizuki?

"Not necessary, Hokage-sama." I began. "While he hides it well, its obvious that Mizuki loathes me. While I find it plausible that he would sent me on such a fools errand to discredit me, I believe he would want something more. I'm to be the fall guy I think." I smiled. "My pranks..." I smirked. My infamous pranks were actually training set up by Kakashi. All he had to say to really motivate me was that mum was quite the prankster before she hooked with dad, sometimes after that too. "My pranks and the way I've avoided ANBU on occasion to either pull them off or escape after that might make him believe that I've got a chance." I snorted. "All thanks to the fox's influence and not my skills, naturally."

"But of course." Lion snorted too.

She knew the truth of course. I've been trained in infiltration and sabotage by her people after all.

"We'll take that possibility into account." Jiji lit up his pipe and took in a lungful of smoke. "I'll create a copy of the scroll. You're to steal it and bring it to the meeting point."

"Actually steal it or just get in sneakily and get it handled to me by one of the guards?" I asked.

Jiji and Lion looked at each other then both shook their heads. _/This is more of a rumor than solid evidence, however a week before graduating, Naruto was sent to test the Hokage's tower defenses. There is no report I could find about the outcome however I know that security was overhauled shortly thereafter./_

"After you last stunt, there will be no sneaking into the tower proper. An ANBU will be waiting you with the scroll on the second floor. You know where." Jiji said.

"Blame Kakashi." I deadpanned.

"I certainly do." Jiji smiled. _/This is the closest I ever got to a confirmation that Naruto successfully infiltrated the Hokage Tower before graduating the academy, which is a significant achievement./_

 **=RH=**

 **The Forbidden Forest**

 **Konoha**

I never got to know if what happened that night was a genuine screw up, Mizuki being better at sneaking around that everyone gave him credit for or even if it was Danzo's meddling in an attempt to discredit me and get me under his control. _/Despite all the documents I have access to, I can't get a clear picture either. The official story is that Mizuki was an expert infiltrator when he put his mind to it./_ What I know for sure is that the pair of ANBU who were supposed to shadow me and provide backup if Mizuki actually showed up came after everything was all but over.

However, when I went to meet the traitor I wasn't aware of any of that. I believed that my minders were simply some of the better ANBU which explained why I didn't sense them after being handed the fake scroll. That's how I reached the small clearing on the edge of the Forbidden Forest where we were supposed to meet. I got in the middle of it believing that I was meant to be a bait and that people had my back – not a mistake I would repeat if I had anything to say about it.

The first surprise for the evening came in the form of a flustered Iruka.

"What do you think you're doing out here, Naruto?!" Umino exclaimed after he noticed me a moment after reaching the clearing. It wasn't particularly hard either – I was wearing one of my favorite orange jumpsuits and it almost glowed in the night.

"You're late, sensei!" I played along while wondering the hell was happening.

"Idiot! What possessed you to take the scroll?! Is forbidden for a reason, Naruto?!" Iruka exclaimed.

Okay… Either he wasn't being briefed or someone changed the play without informing me. Not good either way. I narrowed my eyes in confusion which wasn't entirely fake, then smiled. I had to play along and figure out the situation.

"I got the scroll just as Mizuki-sensei asked! I even learned a jutsu! I'll show it to you and then I pass the test and become a shinobi, right?!" I blurted in one breath.

"What?!" Iruka exclaimed. "Mizuki!" He growled venomously.

I was to be a sacrificial pawn and a distraction while Mizuki went for his real target. It was a good thing then that all the clan heirs and sensitive locations had increased security tonight. If I was lucky Mizuki would be put down long before he ever think coming this way if he ever planned doing so in the first place.

A moment later I was proven wrong.

"Nice work, Naruto!" Mizuki appeared in the corona of a nearby three amidst a swirl of leaves. "Now give me the scroll and you can graduate."

"Mizuki, what do you think you're doing?" Iruka glared at his colleague.

"What I must." The other teacher shrugged. "The scroll, Naruto."

"Not going to happen!" Iruka snapped. "Naruto knows you're deceiving him!"

"Does he? According to whom? You? Don't make me laugh, Iruka! You hate him just like the rest of us!" Mizuki sneered.

I remained silent, though my muscles were coiled and I was ready to spring into action in a moment's notice. Where the hell were the ANBU?!

"I don't!" Iruka exclaimed indignantly.

Umino was telling the truth too. While he hated the furball, he had no problem with me. Iruka actually found it hilarious that the bloody fox could be imprisoned by a mere boy. It helped him deal with the loss of his family I guess.

"Uh-huh. I don't buy it, Iruka. Naruto, do you know why everyone loathes the ground you walk on?" Mizuki gloated.

Hello? ANBU? I was becoming quite nervous. What were they waiting for?! Engraved invitation or something?!

"My charming personality?" I snapped.

"You're a monster, Naruto! Twelve years ago, on your birthday, Kyuubi attacked!" Mizuki leered.

I rolled my eyes. Everyone knew that. Everyone with a bit of sense knew I had the furball in my gut too. What did he expect to happen if he told me the truth? That I would lose my head and go catatonic or something?

"Mizuki, don't you dare!" Iruka shouted and drew a kunai.

"The Fourth couldn't kill Kyuubi, Naruto! He had to seal it into a child!" Mizuki glared at me with wide eyes. "You're the Kyuubi, Naruto! You're that monster and that's why everyone hates you!"

"He's no monster, you bastard!" Iruka snapped.

"That's it?" I asked in a bored tone.

"Yes, you're a monster..." Mizuki trailed off and blinked at me when he comprehended what I said.

"I've known for years. Luckily for everyone, I'm not the bloody fuzzball." I snapped.

The look Mizuki leveled at me was one of pure hatred and loathing. He hissed some kind of curse under his breath and exploded in motion. I expected the ANBU to finally take that prick down, which slowed me down. Mizuki's hands blurred and suddenly a huge shuriken was flying my way. For a moment I stood there frozen by the realization that my supposed backup either wasn't here or were determined to watch me get myself killed.

That's when my training kicked in. Before I could think about it I was substituting myself with a fallen branch. Unfortunately, Iruka didn't think either and reacted – by flickering to protect me from the incoming attack with his body. I hit the ground, rolled away and got to a kneeling position with a kunai drawn in each hand only to see Umino on his knees with a fuck-large shuriken sticking from his back.

The sheer shock of almost getting killed in such a dumb way combined with seeing Iruka go down rattled me. It slowed me down too, which is why when Mizuki came at me with murder in his eyes and kunai ready to gut me, I reacted late. I had no time to think and just reacted. I managed to block Mizuki's first strike, however I hadn't properly anchored myself to the ground with Chakra, nor had enough of it running through my system to make up for the traitor's much larger mass and higher strength. His first strike sent me flying away and even worse, his kunai managed to nick my chest leaving a bloody line just above my breastbone.

I hit the ground hard and substituted just in time to avoid a pair of kunai thrown at me. I got up and deflected the next projectile all the while doing my best to shake off the shock and get my head in the game. Mizuki was coming at me almost faster than my eyes could follow and I knew I was a goner unless I got enough Chakra running through my network so I threw my kunai at him and substituted again. This time the traitor was expecting it and the moment I landed on the other end of the clearing multiple kunai flew my way. My ears pricked at the sound of flying metal and I dived for the ground.

I almost made it too, however a kunai slammed into my right arm, right in the middle between my wrist and elbow. Only then did I hit the ground and screamed at the sudden pain. That shock at least was useful and it finally focused my mind. I substituted again and the moment I replaced another branch I grabbed the kunai impaling my arm and pulled it out before it could cause any more damage. Chakra flooded my system and my senses sharpened – not precisely a good thing because the pain in my wounds flared up too. However now I was finally fast enough to keep up with Mizuki even if he was still almost a blur. The traitor sent another two kunai at me though this time I simply sidestepped them and responded in kind. He merely deflected my own weapon, before pulling more of his own, yet that bought me the moment I needed to get a pair of shuriken out.

Mizuki charged again and I flickered straight up appearing above the clearing in the center of a small whirlwind of leaves. Just as gravity reasserted its control upon my body, I channeled Wind Chakra into my shuriken then threw them at Mizuki. A moment later I finished my next Jutsu hissing its incantation: "Multiple Shadow Shuriken!"

The pair of weapons suddenly became ten whirling blades of death. As I fell down I could see Mizuki smirk when the thought I let myself open for the killing blow. He simply took a step to the right to avoid my attack and drew a handful of weapons on his own. He was about to throw them at me, ready to skewer me in mid-air, when invisible wind blades shredded his left hand. For an instant, Mizuki froze from the sheer shock of the unexpected wound. I used that distraction to flicker above him and sent an Air Bullet at him. The traitor was slow to dodge and my attack caught him in the side and slammed him in the ground.

I flickered one last time, just above Mizuki and fell upon him. My knees found his gut driving the air out of his lungs and then I slammed a wind encased fist into his face. The resulting concussion wave at the very least ensured a nasty case of concussion or even permanently scrambled the bastard's brains.

I didn't really care which.

That's when my backup led by the Hokage himself showed up. I never got a satisfactory explanation on why I was left swinging in the cold, though if I had to guess my answer will be simple – Danzo was up to no good. _/A reasonable deduction./_

At least I got immediate first aid, some painkillers and could finally wear my headband.

 **=RH=**

That night changed things. The good news was that Iruka got very lucky – a bit to the left and that shuriken would have not only nicked an artery by cut it properly and he would have bled to death. As it was, only the weapon itself remaining in place and keeping the wound mostly sealed was the reason why he lived long enough for a medic nin to get to him. If the hit had been a bit to the right, Iruka would be paralyzed for life.

When all is said and done, he got very, very lucky. Me too – at least when I finally thought about it a few hours later. Mizuki almost got me before I got my head in the game. If it wasn't for the furball my left arm might have gotten permanently fucked up too, because one of my tendons got slashed pretty badly. However thanks to Kyuubi's healing factor I recovered in time to meet my sensei in a weeks time.

Those were the good news. Of course there was the next part, which was a mixed bag. First, the news that I was able to take on a Chunin without a backup or the fox's Chakra spread through the shinobi like wildfire. What's more important, Mizuki managed to slip through the ANBU net supposed to watch him only to run into me. That got me both praise and resentment from different quarters. There were Jounin who couldn't wait to see me go on proper missions so I could fill my dad's shoes as soon as possible and others who wanted the former so I could get myself killed. At any rate, a quiet safe career wasn't on the cards. My fame was going to be a double edged sword – it would open doors and possibilities I wouldn't otherwise have, yet it ensured that I would have to risk life and limb every step of the way.

That was the first of the bad news too. After that night I was very well aware that I was very much mortal despite the gift Kyuubi gave me. If I've been a bit slower, if Mizuki was a bit better of if my luck was a bit worse, I would have died.

That thought terrified me. I don't know how the shinobi in the village got the idea that I faced Mizuki in order to prevent him from escaping instead of simply fighting for my life. _/My guess is Hiruzen Sarutobi./_ My fight with the traitor was my first real act as a shinobi of Konoha. It made me seem like a little dutiful hero. It enhanced the reputation I got as a kid when I got really lucky.

It made me feel like a Kami-damned fraud.

Perhaps I should have protested. Told the truth.

Instead, I simply smiled, nodded and humbly accepted the praises while vowed to myself to make my best to keep my skin intact. Little did I know that with my luck my efforts would more often than not sent me straight into the fire…

 **=RH=**

 **Chapter 1**

 **=RH=**

 **Part 1**

I made my next big mistake three months after officially becoming a Genin of Konoha. After the Mizuki incident and a week of recovery, I was assigned to Genin Team Seven and got Kakashi Hakate as Jounin-sensei. The reasons for that particular fuck-up are many. Some have to do with my team, others with the whispers I heard about Danzo making waves and asking the council when I would be proving myself useful again. _/Danzo certainly didn't stop maneuvering to get Naruto under his control and he was becoming more and more vocal as Team Seven showed mediocre results at best./_

I was in a bind. On one hand, I needed to continue my successful career. I needed missions under my hat – successful ones. Preferably ones that were as safe as possible yet apparently with the potential to be dangerous. On the other, I needed to keep myself alive.

Then there was the other big problem – the people who I had to count on during a mission. My team.

First we got Sasuke Uchiha – if there was a more arrogant and entitled brat in the whole village I had the good fortune not to meet them. Don't get me wrong, he was good – for a recent academy graduate. However that wasn't nearly good enough once we were outside the academy and I couldn't afford to hold back my skills and training. As a result Uchiha was utterly furious that I was not only better than him but had the gall to receive training that wasn't made available to him. _/A training Sasuke wouldn't have gotten until the mental trauma he received due to the massacre could be healed. The records clearly show that Uchiha had been deemed a risk if he received too much combat raining too soon./_

This lead to teammate number two – Sakura, who had a crush the size of the Elemental Nations centered on Sasuke. The mere fact that I, a mediocre student who easily failed the exam three times, could suddenly upstage the supposed love of her life didn't go down very well.

In a nutshell, our team was a fucking mess and Kakashi really didn't know how the hell to fix it. Oh, he did what he could and concentrated on our biggest flaw – no sense of teamwork whatsoever. He wasn't going to give us and proper advanced training until he knew we could work as a team. There wasn't much time for it either, because outside a single D-Rank mission a day, we spent the rest of the time since dawn till dusk with sensei while he tried to make us work together.

I actually tried my best to get close to my teammates, yet it simply wasn't working. Sasuke was permanently pissed off that he wasn't better than me in everything, Sakura took his side every time and I'm sure Kakashi was beginning to contemplate arranging some creative accident.

That's how one day we ended up in the mission room on the first floor of the Hokage Tower. Today Jiji and Iruka were busy handing out assignments. We met Guy's team – even if I hadn't occasionally trained with them last year, given the min-clone he was training there was no mistaking who they were. Plus, his presence simply couldn't be missed – he was bigger than life, greener than fresh grass and the loudest man I've ever heard. And those eyebrows… _/Yep. That's Mighty Guy. You can't mistake or miss him even if you tried./_

I'm still trying to suppress the shenanigans that followed. Kakashi and Guy were locked into some kind of eternal rivalry, Guy's mine me fell in love with Sakura at first sight and Sasuke wanted to fight him just to test himself – something that my pink haired teammate found romantic.

That left me commiserating along with Ten-Ten and Neji Hyūga. The former was a sweet girl who loved her weapons. In contrast, the latter used to be a stuck up bastard obsessed with fate. / _Neji knew only the official story about his father's death. As a result he used to blame the Hyūga main branch, his cousin Hinata in particular for what happened. Hizashi's death hit him hard and it took him years to really recover – something he was able to do only once he knew the truth and come to terms with it./_

"Your female teammate is very loud. And pink." Neji grumbled.

I had nothing against pink, considering that my favorite color was orange and most people tended to find it strange – so I wasn't one to judge.

"She's loud indeed." I nodded.

"Can I swap for mini-Guy?" I asked hopefully.

"Sensei won't go for it." Ten-Ten smirked. "We probably can trade you for Neji here."

Said Hyūga examined my teammates and shuddered.

"Not happening." He grumbled.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Iruka used his patented big-head jutsu to shout down the commotion. Thankfully it worked. Guy actually looked apologetic as he led his team out.

That left us facing and amused looking Jiji and my former teacher.

"We're here for another D-Rank, Hokage-sama." Kakashi asked formally. If he felt embarrassed by my teams actions he didn't show it.

"No! We're need a real mission!" Sasuke snapped, earning himself three piercing glares.

Eh. I actually agreed with him for once. I though about my first mission. It changed me. Perhaps…

"Hokage-dono, I concur with my teammate's sentiment if not with the way he expresses it." I bowed to Jiji.

At least Sakura had the good sense to remain silent.

"Naruto, you know that D-Ranks are real missions too. You get a task completed and you get paid." Jiji needled me.

"I'm well aware of that fact, Hokage-dono." I spoke carefully. "I merely believe that it would be good for Team Seven to complete a C-Rank at this time." I continued to speak formally.

"Is that so?" The Hokage smiled. "If you put it that way…" He gave me a knowing look. "I'll let you choose the mission. Lets see what we have left..." He looked at Iruka.

Umino appeared uncomfortable, however simply nodded and handed Jiji three folders. The Hokage examined them for a moment and returned his attention on us.

"We've got a message to the Land of Grass, a delivery to three of our outposts on the border – sealed supplies and such and an escort mission to the Land of Waves." Jiji looked back at me. "What is going to be?"

Message to an allied nation, one we bordered with. Probably the safest one, which immediately disqualified it as an option. A stroll to the border – potentially the most dangerous one, so I had to avoid it at all costs. That left the escort. A C-Rank meant only bandits, yet in theory the one mission that was more or less sure to have some kind of trouble. You don't hire shinobi escort unless you believed there would be trouble. That or you had to transport something expensive and had to hedge your bets.

"The escort mission if it pleases you, Hokage-dono." I bowed again. "Seeing a bit of action even if its just bandits will be nice."

"Are you sure, Naruto-kun?" Jiji asked.

"I am." I nodded.

Hopefully getting into a real scrap might help my team to get their heads on straight. Preferably during a milk-run where if, no when they screwed up the odds of me getting killed would be very small.

"Congratulations, Team Seven, you just got your fist mission. You're to escort the Bridge Builder Tazuna back to his home in the Land of Waves."

For the next few minutes I was mightily pleased with myself. Even my team was bearable and even gave me nods of approval.

That happy state of affairs lasted until I reached my home to get gear and supplies for a two week mission, where I found Lion lounging on my couch. She was reading files from a folder and waved at me when I got in.

"Oh, fuck." I muttered. Suddenly a frozen ball formed in the pit of my stomach.

"Naruto-kun!" Lion practically gushed at me. I was so fucked it wasn't even funny. The last time she sounded like that was just before she gave me the Mizuki assignment.

"The mission to Wave won't be just a milk run to hopefully get my team unfucked?" I asked though I already knew the answer.

"It might be." Lion shrugged.

I didn't buy it.

"We've been hearing some interesting rumors coming from there." She waved the folder at me. "It sounds like the place might have fallen under the control of a crime syndicate."

"That explains why Tazuna needs escort..." I began. "No. If a syndicate control Wave, he probably won't be attacked before he reaches home, but after we finish our mission and head back."

"Yep. It might be just him reaching for straws. As you'll no doubt figure out soon, the man's drunk." Lion grumbled.

She really didn't approve of people drinking more than a cup of something strong a day – at most. I figured that a couple of years ago when she arrived for my lesson ranting about the famous Ino-Shika-Cho trio getting plastered. They probably spilled a secret or two while at it considering how pissed off Lion was. _/Fortunately for them they didn't./_

"Lovely." I grumbled and went to pack for the mission. "What do you need me to do?" I asked and pulled a backpack with everything but food and water prepacked for two-week mission from the wardrobe.

That was a little trick one of my ANBU teachers explained. It made preparing for last minute missions much more simple and ensured that you didn't forget something important. He also pointed out that usually it was for the best to not have food and water stuck in the pack, even if it was sealed and meant to last a long time. The odds were you would eventually forget to check it up and might get a nasty surprise during an important mission.

"Intelligence gathering. Duh." I was sure Lion was smirking at me.

"Details?" I asked while going for the cupboard holding my MREs. I checked their expiration dates and began sealing them into storage scrolls. Three packs a day, fourteen days at a minimum so forty two. I got a dozen or so more just in case my teammates didn't bring enough, then bottles of water, though without an extra. We were going to Wave after all. If they had one thing in abundance it was water. Which meant I had to get a pack or two of decon-tablets in order to make that water drinkable.

"Make Tazuna spill his guts about the situation, keep your eyes and ears open when you reach Wave. Once you've delivered him, find an excuse to remain there for a couple of days and scout the situation." Lion ordered.

"Why didn't you just tell Kakashi?" I grumbled.

"Well, this is a test to see how much attention you paid during intelligence training." Lion sing-songed.

"Right now I hate you very much."

"Nah, I'm a very likable person."

"You're in charge of Intelligence." I deadpanned.

"And I'm very good at it! Which means that I'm very likable when I want to be!" Lion chirped.

That I had no trouble believing.

 **=RH=**

I got to Konoha's main gate before the rest of my team only to find that Kakashi was already there, reading his favorite smut. Our client was busy draining a bottle of sake nearby and there was no sight of the rest of the team.

"Sensei is my team a total cluster-fuck or am I warped after all the training I've been through?"

Kakashi raised his uncovered eye and gave me a thoughtful look.

"I would like to say we've trained you well..." He trailed off. "Which we did." He sent me one of his patented eye-smiles.

"I'm sensing a but."

"Team Seven is the most dis-functional group of Genin I had the misfortune of seeing. Naruto, you know with Sasuke and yourself in it I'm not really allowed to just dump you back to the academy for variety of reasons."

The odd chance of Danzo getting his grubby hands on me and turning me into a mindless and emotionless killing machine answering only to him was high up on that list. Sasuke going totally mental and potentially needing to be put down was important too I guess. Sakura was academically brilliant and despite her tiny Chakra reserves had been tabbed as a potentially very useful medic-nin or even a Genjutsu-mistress if she could increase capacity sufficiently.

In theory our team was supposed to work well. Sakura being the one to put us back in one piece as well as providing tactical and strategic control, Sasuke as long to mid-range specialist who could be very deadly at close range too once he awakened his bloodline and then there was me. Thanks to the fox I was in-ordinary hard to put down, I preferred close to medium range engagements and my Wind affinity and jutsu helped a lot in that respect. Being proficient with a wakizashi and having begun training with longer blades now that I was growing taller was quite useful too.

That's theory for you. In practice if it wasn't for politics Team Seven would have been disbanded. That or not formed in the first place. _/A correct deduction, though not complete. There were other practical consideration beyond politics, however I'm reasonably sure no one expected for Team Seven to be such a mess as it turned out to be./_

"Otherwise I would have cheerfully washed my hands off this mess and gone back to ANBU." Kakashi finished and went back to his book.


End file.
